CAMP HILL, Pa. — They may have been sitting in a conference room just three miles from the state Capitol, but the progressive candidates who gathered here Sunday emphasized that the political differences between them and the Harrisburg establishment are stark.
“You can still legally buy your own politician if you have the means to do so,” said Patty Smith, a Democrat who is making a second attempt to unseat longtime state Rep. Sue Helm, R-Dauphin, in the 104th House District.
For two hours on Sunday, House and Senate candidates answered questions posed to them during a forum organized by the progressive advocacy group Capital Region Stands Up. This was the second in a series of such forums held at Camp Hill City Hall. Last week, the group organized a panel for local congressional candidates.
For candidates running in a primary, as was the case in the 15th Senate District in Dauphin County, where two candidates, and the 31st Senate District in Cumberland County, there was little chance to show clear differences in their campaigns.
They all supported core Democratic issues like a higher minimum wage, more money for public schools, and clever environmental regulation. The differences between them lay rather on the margins of their approaches.
In the 15th Senate District, where Army veteran and Lutheran pastor George Scott meets with community activist Alvin Q. Taylor, the difference is one of broad generalities (Taylor) and policy specifics (Scott).
Perhaps the most noticeable change came when Scott, who narrowly lost to Republican U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, R-10, in 2018, had to answer a question about the minimum wage. Scott told the crowd he supports raising Pennsylvania’s minimum wage, currently $7.25 an hour, to $15.
Scott said if elected, he would support raising the wage to $10 an hour and then by $1 an hour. until it increased to $15 an hour.
The response was a subtle inflection, reminiscent of the response Scott gave to the Capital-Star in January when he announced his candidacy for the seat currently held by Republican Sen. John DiSanto. Scott then said he might support a wage enhance to $10 an hour. Future increases, linked to inflation, would be a more reasonable target “in the short term.”
“My intuition says 15 [dollars an hour] is great, but it’s probably a bridge too far in the short term,” Scott told the Capital-Star in January. “We have to at least get to 10 [dollars]”
In an interview after his speech, Scott told the Capital-Star that he changed his mind after talking to voters in the Harrisburg district he wants to represent and that the pay was $15 an hour. the salary would have a more significant impact on their lives.
Meanwhile, in Cumberland County’s 31st Senate District, three people: Shanna Danielson and Rick Coplen, both educators, and John Bosha, a pharmacist, are competing for a chance to unseat GOP Sen. Mike Regan of York County in November.
Danielson, who unsuccessfully challenged state Rep. Dawn Keefer, R-York, in 2018, emphasized her York County ties to the Senate district that straddles the border of York and Cumberland counties, while Coplen positioned himself as a pragmatist who actively engages with district residents on to solve the problem problems. Four years ago, Bosha unsuccessfully challenged Regan.
When asked about the three biggest public policy challenges facing this largely suburban district, all three mentioned education funding. Both Coplen and Danielson cited environmental issues as their third biggest challenge, while Bosha cited redistricting reform as their third biggest challenge.
A similar wave of agreement occurred among the three candidates seeking the Democratic nomination in Cumberland County’s 87th Congressional District, where incumbent Republican Greg Rothman is seeking a third, two-year term.
One candidate, attorney Sean Quinlan of Camp Hill, is making a second attempt to oust Rothman, a real estate agent. In 2018, he ran and lost. In 2019, Quinlan ran unsuccessfully for Cumberland County District Attorney.
Two Women Nicole Miller, who ran for a seat on the local school board in 2019and newcomer Heather MacDonald are also seeking the nomination.
MacDonald, who comes to the table with no prior experience, highlighted her human side.
“I live in Camp Hill. “I was parking the car, walking the dog and wondering where I wanted to live one day,” she said, adding that becoming a mother at 17 was a “transformative experience” for me. It contains information about every decision I have ever made in my life.”
On Sunday, International Women’s Day, Miller noted that she would be a woman serving in a predominantly male institution.
“I am recalling the fact that I am a woman who grew up and still lives in times when we grow up and tell ourselves that we are not worth as much as men,” she said. “I tell my daughter that all the time.”
Three House candidates: Smith, 105th District candidate Brittney Rodas and 88th District candidate Tara Shakespeare, had the stage to themselves.
Rodas, a former Pennsylvania House staffer, mentioned her experience in the Legislature and said she “will be ready to start serving from day one.”
Shakespeare positioned himself as an outsider.
“I come to politics from a completely different background than most people,” she said. “I’m not a lawyer, I’ve never worked for the Legislature my whole life like my opponent. I’m an ordinary person who cares about people.”
